Dubai: The UAE has confirmed a squad of four athletes for the Second Summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Nanjing, China, later this month.
Mohammad Al Kamali, General Secretary, UAE National Olympic Committee (UAE NOC) told Gulf News that of the UAE’s quartet, three have qualified directly while the fourth has accepted an invitation to participate.
Fatima Al Hossani has qualified for the discus, while Hamad Al Hammadi made the grade in the Sailing Byte CII class and Yaqoob Al Sa’adi qualified for men’s backstroke swimming. Yasmeen Tahlak is the lone athlete who has accepted an invitation to participate in the 10-metres rifle shooting competition.
The Nanjing 2014 YOG will encompass all 28 sports on the Olympic Games programme, and will be held from August 16-28. The UAE squad is scheduled to leave for China on August 12 and Al Kamali is hopeful the participation will help the young UAE athletes’ experience will help them progress internationally.
“This is the first time for the UAE at the Youth Olympic Games and I think it is a creditable accomplishment to have three athletes who have directly qualified in their events,” Al Kamali told Gulf News.
“I am sure they will all derive a lot of confidence from participating at the highest level in their events. It will be a huge learning curve for them all,” he added.
Besides the sports and games, the organising committee of the 2014 Nanjing YOG will be working closely with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on several off-the-field activities.
These include a culture and education programme focusing on discussions on education, social challenges, cultural diversity and Olympic values.
“One of the ideals of the Youth Olympic Games is to spread the Olympic spirit, so it is important for our athletes to have a better view of the international sporting scene while experiencing the finer values,” Al Kamali said.
The other members of the UAE delegation to Nanjing will consist of four coaches accompanied by three officials from the UAE NOC.
